"Most of the landscape is farmed though a mixture of arable and pastoral agriculture, whilst the urban areas include important networks of public green spaces, and the marine environment is fished mainly by local inshore small boats.
"There are a variety of important and rare wildlife habitats locally, from chalk grassland on the downs to wetlands in the river valleys and estuaries, and from the rich tapestry of urban greenspace to the vegetated shingle beaches and chalk cliffs and reefs of the coast.
"These habitats support more than 200 species that are on international conservation lists and more than 300 that are national biodiversity conservation priorities, and more than one thousand locally rare species. The connections of ‘green networks’ for wildlife and people between town, country and coast are significant. National Park downland extends as fingers into the urban settlements and in places right down to the coast with its public beaches and accessible routes.
"The downland connects with a network of green spaces and corridors that helps to knit this ‘green infrastructure’ together. The three environments of countryside, coast and towns are closely entwined with each other though both natural interactions and peoples’ use of them."